


One, two, three...

by Moonprincess92



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dancing, F/M, Family Feels, Salsa dancing, UST, don't judge me for this ok, side plot that gets a little out of hand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-08-21 09:56:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16574297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonprincess92/pseuds/Moonprincess92
Summary: Jyn is terrible at Salsa. Cassian teaches dance for a living. Bodhi ships it.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you are at all interested, a beautiful and inspiring dance for this fic can be found here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7AyCy3BXYo

If she’d had her way, Jyn would be at home wrapped up in a blanket burrito with tea and three seasons of _Victoria_.

As it was, her feet were involuntarily tapping to the beat of the music that she couldn’t understand, too hot and too tired to even try and stop it. The Muddy Farmer was always a pulsing mass on a Friday night, a wave of heat that managed to sit low over the dance floor even if it was blowing a gale outside. She still didn’t understand why an Irish pub hosted a Latin dance night of all things, but there were stranger things in the world, she supposed.

“Come onnnnn,” Bodhi had practically whined earlier that evening, attempting to forcibly unroll her from her blanket burrito. “I need a partner to dance with!”

“You know I’m shite at Salsa and half the bloody class goes out to Muddy Farmer every week,” Jyn had argued right on back. “There will be _someone_ you know there.”

“Look,” Bodhi had huffed. “You and I both know that as soon as Luke arrives you can go home.”

“Oh no,” Jyn had shaken her head. “You said that last time, only I was forced to stay because you were too chicken to ask him out for the tenth time!”

“It’s HARD, ok?”

“He literally told you he had a crush on you.” 

“…still.”

Yes, still. She still somehow ended up here, on the edges of the crowd and watching Bodhi and Luke tear up a storm across the floor. Luke Skywalker’s perfect blond hair whipped around as he span, almost blurring as Bodhi led him through the crowd. Some heads still turned at the sight, but most of the social scene was used to the two dancing by this point, not to mention that the well known masters, Baze and Chirrut, still came out every once in a while as well. The couple had been the original ones to get Bodhi into Salsa in the first place, Jyn naturally being reluctantly dragged along behind him as the dutiful best friend/roommate. 

(Sometimes life just threw you curveballs). 

She took another gulp of her beer, watching the steps, turns and dips. There was everything from beginners just learning to cross-body, to seasoned veterans who could spin no less than five times in a row. She could barely hear herself think over the live music, it thumping and rattling in her eardrums. The scent of greasy pub food hit her as the guy next to her at the bar ordered a basket of chips and she debated the merits of getting some herself versus just going home. She’d been here long enough now that she could probably get away with it, and Bodhi barely noticed anything when he was dancing.

Though the chips really did smell good…

In the end, the decision was made for her when someone accidentally stepped too close and shoved into another dancer. Chips went flying as they stumbled right into Chip Guy, nearly throwing him off his stool. Jyn debated the morality of eating the chip that had landed on her chest for a hot second or two, before deciding to go with the conscience and toss it aside so that she could offer to help him up.

“I’m so sorry!” the dancers exclaimed several times over.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Chip Guy insisted, somehow taking the battering with a smile. “Not the first time I’ve been danced into.”

“You all right, mate?” Jyn asked him.

He glanced over at her as the dancers went back to their partners. “I’m fine,” he insisted once more. “although I might need some help eating these now, my friend is weird about eating things off the floor.”

“Just don’t tell him, who has to know?”

He thankfully laughed a little, offering the basket up to her. Figuring it would be rude not to take one at this point, she quickly shoved a chip into her mouth, suddenly wishing that she’d actually made an effort to look decent that night, rather than stubbornly remain in her dirty jeans and t-shirt combo. The guy looked vaguely familiar, which was confirmed when he then asked her,

“I think I’ve seen you around, what’s your name again?”

“Jyn,” she said around her chips. “I’ve seen you too, I’m pretty sure.”

“I’m Cassian,” he replied. “Sorry if I’ve told you before, I’m pretty bad with names and there’s a lot of people–”

“Oh god, don’t even worry about it,” Jyn insisted. “You don’t need a name to dance so I forget everyone pretty much as soon as they introduce themselves.”

He smiled in solidarity. “I know a lot of faces, and I know a lot of names, but I’m at the point where I don’t know which name goes with which face.”

“That’s exactly it.”

“You don’t come out often, right?”

“Nah, only when the flatmate drags me,” Jyn gestured across the dance floor. “Do you know Bodhi?”

“Oh, THAT’S Bodhi!” Cassian said, face lighting up in recognition. “I’ve actually spoken to him several times! Good guy, although I had no idea what his name was until now.”

Jyn found herself wanting to laugh a little, which was clearly the strangest sensation she could ever feel on a Friday night when she should be at home alone with her historical dramas. She certainly knew of Cassian before now, even if she hadn’t ever properly spoken to him before. He was apparently from Mexico, he was pretty damn cute and he was _insanely_ good at Salsa. She had danced with him a couple times as they’d all switched partners during the classes that Bodhi had forced her to do with him, and she could remember the way he had shaken her hands, claiming that she was way too tense, and how he had taught her how to switch the tension to her arms so that her frame stayed locked and easy to lead. He had been easy to chat to and easily her favourite to dance with…

But the thing with favourites is that she wasn’t the only one. Cassian insisted on her continuing to help him eat the contaminated chips and she noticed the eyes from across the pub, people wondering and craning heads, trying to figure out who she was and why she was the one who got to sit and eat with Cassian the Infamously Amazing Dancer. She tried to focus on what she was saying, answering her question of what she did as a job, instead of acknowledging Bodhi who was practically hollering at Luke at the sight.

“It’s not that interesting,” she tore her eyes away. “but I’ve got good work colleagues so it’s not too bad.”

“Are you kidding? It’s so cool you work in a police station!”

“Admin doesn’t solve murders, remember?” she said.

“Still,” Cassian pointed out. “You’re Gina from _Brooklyn Nine-Nine_.”

Jyn nearly choked on her chip.

“I don’t – I don’t think I’m quite like Gina,” she coughed. “Although to be fair, she is an inspiration to all.”

“I love that show.”

“Me too,” Damn it, she was smiling too much. Their basket of chips was nearly empty now as she asked, “So what’s your job?”

“I teach dance.”

“Never would have guessed that,” Jyn said, dryly.

Cassian laughed ( _god, he was cute when he laughed_ ). “Not just Salsa, other styles too,” he added. “I actually mostly teach kids classes, although sometimes I help out with the adult ones if there’s an instructor away or an uneven amount of people or something.”

“I bet there are kids even better at dancing than I am.”

“There are some kids better than me,” Cassian pointed out. “Still… I think we demolished these chips, by the way.”

She glanced down at them. “Oh, definitely. Your friend won’t be pissed we ate them all?”

“He’ll be pissed, he’ll get over it. Want to dance?”

“Oh–” _Fucking shit_. He was holding out his hand and jumping down from his bar stool and suddenly she wished she hadn’t eaten quite so much. “but we just ate–”

“We’ll burn off the calories.”

“I’m honestly shit at Salsa, like I could barely keep up with the beginners class–”

“If I do my job and lead you properly, then you’ll be fine I promise.”

Jyn reluctantly slid off her stool. “And if you fuck up?”

Cassian smiled. 

“I’ll buy you a drink to go with the chips.”

She… couldn’t argue that.

So despite her better judgement, she ended up taking his hand and following him to a relatively spare space within the dance floor. She hoped to god that Bodhi wasn’t still witnessing this because she would no doubt never hear the end of it, although it was kind of the least of her worries. There were too many things cycling through her head to pay attention to much else. She prayed that she didn’t fuck up her ankles in these heels, she hoped that no one accidentally stood on her or that she didn’t crash into anyone. Hell, she begged to all the primordial forces out there that she didn’t just fuck up in general.

At least the basic step she could do.

Cassian held her hands as she concentrated on getting the beat right – _1-2-3, 5,6,7_ – and she could feel the sweat starting to gather at her hairline already. She practically held her breath during the first turn and he shook his head once she was back facing him once more.

“I can practically feel the anxiety coming off you,” he pointed out.

It was always hard to talk on the dance floor, what with the cacophony of the live band, people talking, glasses clinking and bar stools scraping. However, Cassian had made the effort to yell over it all and so she felt compelled to reply.

“That is a skill I am proud of, I’ll have you know,” she yelled back.

He just snorted. Instead of stepping forward he stepped back on the next bar, moving them through an open break turn and not even pausing before swapping their hands and leading her through a cross-body turn. “See?” he pointed out once she had thankfully not keeled over. “It comes naturally, you can do it!”

Ok, maybe a part of her knew it.

She knew she wasn’t absolutely completely fucking terrible, as she was determined to make it seem. She wasn't great either, but after a few of the beginners classes she had found herself picking up the rhythm. She struggled with anything fast, but eventually learned how to make her steps smaller and tighter. She wasn't _bad_ …it was just hard to not compare herself when she was fully aware of the fact that she was currently partnered with an actual goddamn dance teacher. He moved into a close hold, hand curving up to rest between her shoulder blades as he swept her around and she tried to ignore the heartbeat currently slamming in her throat. This was supposed to be fun. She was supposed to be swept up into the music, uncaring of those around her, just moving and feeling. She could be fun, goddamn it! She supposed the tension in her arms was good at least for something as he continued to lead her this way and then that, changing the line depending on the crowd. With so many people, it was impossible to not stand on someone occasionally. She ended up half gasping, half laughing when Cassian lead her in a cross-body turn and she ended up slamming right into someone she recognised from Bodhi’s dance classes.  

“Oh, shit!” she mouthed to Cassian once the initial apologies were over.

“You ok?”

“I am,” she answered. “I don’t think my shoes are. Shit, do I actually have a dent in it?”

They took a moment to pause and glance down at where the other woman had literally stomped down on the back of her heel. Sure enough, running her fingers over the dance shoes that she had bought second hand online she could feel a dip. She grabbed his hand without thinking to ensure that he could feel it too, and she gripped his arm to keep her balance as she stood up on one foot.

“You have battle wounds now,” he teased.

“I guess so–”

She hastily cut herself off as the latest song apparently finished and her yelling was suddenly much louder as the music faded. The crowd cheered and they both clapped politely, several people leaving the dance floor, others coming to join. It was a mass of movement and Jyn hovered awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what she was supposed to do now. Etiquette said that they should thank each other for the dance before going and finding someone else, but some weird part of her knew a fucking vibe when it saw it, and wasn’t denying that it wanted to stay. For a wild moment it looked like he wanted to stay too, but unfortunately the next song that was strung up sounded off, and it took her several moments to click.

“Oh,” she screwed up her face. “this isn’t Salsa anymore, is it?”

“No, this is Bachata,” Cassian nodded.

“Christ,” she sighed. “I don’t know how to Bachata at all.”

“Do you know the basic step?”

Jyn cringed at the memory of the one Bachata dance she had attempted, the last time she had been dragged out social dancing alongside Bodhi. Thank god it had been with him. If it had been with anyone else she might have died of mortification, but remembering how she had awkwardly attempted to move her hips the right way made her want to throw up a little.

“It’s 1-2-3-hip or something, right? Or is it a tap, I can’t remember–”

“It just depends on which style you’re using, but honestly,” Cassian shrugged, tugging on her hands once more. “Just move your body, and you’ll be great.”

He started moving then as if to prove his point in the basic side to side motion that Jyn had to actively think about in order not to mess up. All around them, couples were already pressing up against each other’s bodies, rolling and grinding. Jyn was pretty sure that wasn’t the traditional Bachata, but then again much of her internal meltdown was probably because she was certain her hips just simply didn’t not move that way. She didn’t even realise how much she was glancing around anxiously until she caught Bodhi’s eye only several couples away. Now dancing with a girl that she recognised from classes with long brown braids, he mouthed at her in astonishment,

“WHAT THE FUCK?” 

“I DON’T KNOW.”

“THAT’S CASSIAN!”

Thanks, mate. She had no idea.

She was pulled away from the non-verbal conversation when Cassian lead her into what was probably one of the most simplest turns she’d ever had to do and yet she still somehow managed to botch it. Stepping with the wrong foot, she ended up on the wrong timing and exclaimed in frustration,

“Sorry! I told you I don’t know what I’m doing!” 

He stopped them. For a moment her heart pounded, sure he was about to politely call it quits and send her packing across the dance floor so that he could sweep up some other woman into his arms… except instead, he steadied her with his hands sliding down to her hips.

“You think you’re terrible, fine,” he started to grin. “Crash course in Bachata.” 

He started counting. His hands moved her hips with the beat of the song and shit, if she had blood, it was currently rushing to her face. Was anyone watching this? Another quick glance around however showed her that Bodhi had apparently already moved on and was now totally absorbed in having fun dancing with his friend and that literally no one else gave a shit. While a little disappointing to know no one cared, it was also admittedly… liberating to know that she could thrust her hips as awkwardly as she liked and no one would make fun of her for it. It took a while, but soon they were adding in the footwork and then her hands were being picked up again, the two of them finally having found their rhythm.  

“That’s it!” he said, happily.

She wasn’t quite sure how the knot in her throat managed to dissipate (and to be honest, she didn’t think it was going to entirely go away) but she did feel a hell of a lot better than when she had first stepped out onto the dance floor, and that said something. This time when Cassian led her in a turn, her feet automatically kept up the rhythm and she found herself with her back to him, arms crossed in front of her as he kept a hold of her hands. _1-2-3-tap, 1-2-3-tap_ …

It was slower than Salsa, which helped, not to mention less spinning like a top and more turning within his arms. When she was eventually brought back around to face him, he span himself before moving in and bringing her into a close hold. _Jesus Christ_. This close, their legs overlapped to avoid their knees banging into each other, and it may or may not have been causing a slight heart attack, she still wasn’t sure. They moved in a 360, around and around until she was let go and allowed to breathe again.

Maybe it was her mind just wrecking havoc inside her, but it almost felt lighter inside the pub now. She supposed it was the atmosphere of connecting with the person in front of you and tuning out the rest, or at least it was certainly hard to concentrate on anything else. She could imagine that drink Cassian had promised her, imagine that they danced together every weekend, that his hands sliding against her hips were familiar to her and that the chest she was pressed against was always warm and solid. She felt like she could let go and just fucking dance, and she wondered whether maybe he could feel it too. She was pulled into his body once more, his arms lifting hers up before his fingertips traced back down her sides. She slung her arms around his neck, her body settled firmly on his thigh. After a moment he bent her back so that she swung around, Jyn letting her head tilt back so that she could see the ceiling of the pub and the ends of her hair brushed against his arms. Pulled back up, she smiled into his shoulder.

He must have recognised the song enough to know when the end was coming. After feeling his leg sliding between hers, after swinging her hips in time with his, he eventually turned her around and with her back pressed to this chest, brought each of her arms up and over his head. Leaning to the side to see her, Jyn realised that he had ended their dance with perfect timing, left standing with their noses inches from each other, hands still clutched in his behind his head as they struggled to breathe. Jyn might have ignored all the polite claps and cheers for the band, might have even had the guts to say a giant _fuck it_ in her head before closing the distance between them –

– when suddenly, her phone started buzzing in her pocket.

“Oh – shit, I’m sorry–” She pulled away and he hastily snatched back his hands, taking a step back. One glance at the caller made her stomach sink. “Fuck – I have to answer this – but thank you for the dance and the chips, it was really good! The dance, I mean, the chips too but the dance was – _fuckity fuck_ –”

She made for the exit before she could glance back and see what was no doubt utter bemusement left on Cassian’s face. She hit answer on the way, finally speaking once she was outside the pub and out on the cold city street.

“Hey, Papa,” she said, wrapping her spare arm around her like it could retain the heat of the dance floor. “what’s up?”

“ _Jyn! My darling daughter_ –”

“Yeah, yeah,” Despite her slight disappointment, she smiled a little at hearing her father’s voice. She also heard rustling and clicking, along with Galen cursing under his breath every now and then.

“ _You aren’t busy, are you?_ ” he asked. “ _I know it's kind of late, I can call back later or tomorrow even_ –”

“Nah, it’s fine, I’m just out with Bodhi,” Jyn immediately said. “How are you?”

“ _Oh, I’m grand – got the new T.V. finally!_ ”

“The T.V. you’ve been meaning to buy ever since it went on sale two months ago, you mean?” Jyn teased.

“ _Har, har, you know how I am with crowds_ ,” her dad scoffed. “ _I’m just trying to connect it now, but turns out it’s harder than I thought. There’s so many damn cords and – shite – I’m no good at this sort of thing at all! Technology was all your mother’s territory_ –”

She just knew what it must be like, her dad sat in the middle of a pile of cables, pretending to be ok with the fact that he didn’t have a wife to help him with this kind of thing anymore. He had been doing reasonably ok since the funeral – or rather as ok as anyone would have expected him to be – but he still called every day and there were still moments Jyn knew he was really only calling because he needed to have her near, rather than because he actually needed her help. She closed her eyes a moment, making the decision before her mind could consciously think about it.

“You’re terrible, Papa. Need me to come help?”

“ _You wouldn’t help an old man, would you?_ ”

“I’ll be there soon,” she told him.

She hung up quickly so that she could give Bodhi a call to explain. He eventually picked up in the bathroom, still not entirely quiet, but at least able to hear what he was saying. “I gotta go help my dad,” she explained. “You all right if I leave?”

“ _I’m totally fine – are you, though?_ ”

“Oh, you know,” she let out a long breath. “I think I might have to take up Bachata lessons again, mate.”

“ _I fucking saw you dancing with Cassian, SHIT, Jyn!_ ” She could just imagine Bodhi practically hopping up and down in glee.

She smiled despite herself.

“Shit sounds about right.”


	2. Part 2

It was only the next day, after waking up on the couch in her childhood home with her dad snoring away in the armchair and the T.V. still playing in the background, when she realised that she had literally no way of contacting him.

Cassian, she meant, not her dad.

“Oh, yes you do, just stalk the group chat,” Bodhi eventually huffed over breakfast one morning. “He’s probably in there somewhere. Or just come back to classes, I’m sure you’ll see him then. Hell, you could even get one of the detectives at work to run a bloody background check on him – my point is, why are you torturing yourself like this?”

“I’m not,” she threw back waspishly, but the truth was he was kind of right. She _was_ torturing herself. In this day and age, it was not hard to find someone and she knew that she could probably track him down easily if she was so inclined, but she certainly hadn’t had the guts to ask for his number that night at the Muddy Farmer and he hadn’t asked for hers either. She couldn’t go through the motions of actively trying to look him up, only to find photos of him and his girlfriend posted all over Instagram or something. It was stupid anyway to think that he could even be interested after just one conversation and a dance –

( _I’ll buy you a drink to go with the chips_ ).

( _He hadn’t fucked up leading her in the end, but she somehow wished that he had_ ).

Their morning routine usually consisted of Bodhi sitting at the table eating his toast and casually scrolling through his phone while Jyn hastily ate some cereal over the sink because she was always running late. That morning she appeared to have run out of milk and she was searching through the pantry for a muesli bar or something when Bodhi slammed down his phone and spoke up again,

“Jyn, you know I fucking love you,” he said. “And I know you’ve been through a lot recently…”

She turned from the pantry to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Wherever this is going,” She pointed at him with her muesli bar. “it’s far too early for seven in the morning.”

Bodhi snorted, but carried on. “I also know that you love your dad, Jyn… but there’s such a thing as caring too much.”

“Bodhi–”

“No, please – hear me out?” Only the look in his eyes and the fact that they’d been friends for so long made her pause. “It’s great that you care! It’s great that you’re there for him whenever he calls, but you literally drop everything for him. It’s gotten to the point where you’ve put your entire life on hold. And sometimes I wonder if you’re actually doing it for him, or if you’re doing it for you–”

“Ok,” Jyn cut in. “I heard you out. I’m late for work, can I go now?”

Bodhi just sighed. “Have a good day.”

She stopped to squeeze her arms around his shoulder as she passed. He held on tightly as she kissed his head lightly.

“You, too.”

* * *

 

“I didn’t mess up your night, did I?” Galen insisted roughly a week later, handing her the steaming plate of heated up lasagne from the microwave. “That night you came and helped me with the T.V.? Bodhi tells me you’ve taken up dancing again.”

“Oh, barely – don’t listen to anything he says.”

“So you didn’t dance with the hunky boy of your dreams, then?”

“Jesus Christ, Dad.”

“His words, not mine,” Galen held up his hands as his own lasagne turned in the microwave. “I just want to know whether or not I’m messing up your life, because I think I’ve already messed it up enough and the last thing I want to do is add to it.”

“Papa, no,” Jyn sighed. “we’re family, were supposed to do this kind of shit. And I know it’s been…”

 _Beep, beep, beep_.

Both of them held off carrying on the conversation until they were settled eating lasagne in front of _The Great British Bake Off_. Apparently waiting until a decent amount had already been consumed, Galen swallowed and turned to gauge her reaction as he asked,

“How are you doing, Jyn?”

She sighed. How _was_ she doing?

Quite frankly, she was just carrying on, because what else was she even supposed to do? Her mother’s death had been a long time coming, her illness giving her time to mentally prepare. But sometimes Bodhi’s words would come back to her, ringing through her head at the most inconvenient times – sitting in traffic, washing her hair in the shower, late at night while she was trying to sleep – and it was terrifying to consider that he might be a little right. That yes, sometimes she thought that she might have prepared herself a little too much, to the point where Jyn had apparently shut down all feelings and didn’t actually care anymore at all…

But her father’s state of mind was more important than anything that might be going on in her head. He may seem ok to the outside observer, but she knew he wasn’t handling it any better now than he was six months ago. He was the one who needed her. Not the other way around.

No, she was fine.

She had to be.

“I’m ok,” she said, shortly.

“I still think you should perhaps talk to–”

“ _Dad_ ,” she huffed.

He held up his hands in surrender. “I concede!” he said. “Just know you’re not made of stone, Jyn.”

“No, that was Mama,” she threw back.

Galen’s smile was melancholy as he glanced back at his lasagne. As a geologist, there had been many a rock puns in their house growing up and he had to know it couldn’t be a family dinner without at least two. “You’re as bad as her,” he muttered.

“You love me anyway.”

“I do,” he said, before apparently shaking off the cloud of misery that seemed to always dominate whenever Lyra was mentioned. “Anyway!” he added, forcing cheer into his voice. “Why the sudden urge to get back into dancing? It’s not because of the Hunky Boy, is it?”

“Even I’m not that desperate, Papa,” Jyn blatantly lied. “Bodhi roped me in. Still sure I can’t teach you some moves?”

“Your mother was always better at it than I was – but I’m willing to try!” he set aside his plate and actually jumped to his feet, exaggerating a hip circle that was bound to put his back out. “Look! I’m a pro!”

“Dad, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Then teach me, oh wise daughter.”

Jyn snorted before getting up herself and taking her father’s hands. She pretty much led him, but still let him toss her around their living room a little. She span under her father’s arm and eventually dipped dramatically with her head tilted back, spluttering with laughter as Galen struggled to keep her from falling to the floor.

“You didn’t dance with hunky boy like this, did you?”

“No, he’s actually got talent.”

“Oi!”

Jyn just smirked, staggering herself back upright before flinging her arms around him.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, quietly.

Galen patted her on the back. “What have you got to lose?”

“My sense of poise. My fragile ego. My dignity.”

He let out a _pssshhhh_ sound. “Who needs dignity? I asked your mother out in the middle of a packed lecture theatre.”

“How did she ever say yes to you?”

“Don’t you know?” Galen pulled back from their hug to throw his hands up into the air, apparently attempting some kind of Salsa flare. “She just couldn’t resist my–”

“ _Papa_ ,” she ground out exasperatedly when Galen suddenly yelped, clapping a hand to his back. “I said you were gonna hurt yourself!”

* * *

 

Many times she found herself stalking the group chat.

With over 50 people added to it, it was a situation where the notifications had to be switched off in order to retain her sanity. While great in seeing who would be going out, where to meet people and knowing that there was always at least someone out that you might know, the constant stream of buzzing had lasted literally only a day before she had shut it all off completely. However, she stared at the chat go off right then, messages flooding through in answer to the question that was always ultimately asked on a Friday: _who’s heading out to MF tonight????_

_MEEEEE_

_Aw, I can’t this week, but next for sure_

_Nooo! :( I’ll be there I think_

_I’ll try swing by_

_@leia organa and @luke skywalker u guys in???_

_I’m down!_

_I’ll be going_ , the latest message said and that’s when her heart kind of gave a strange lurching feeling. She recognised that small profile picture of the man smiling on the top of some mountain that he’d clearly climbed at some point. Gorgeous. Photogenic. Nothing like her profile pic of herself hiding behind a cup of tea. She finally had a whole name, _Cassian Andor_ , and shit was she tempted to click onto his profile. He was right there, she could just bite the bullet and send a message, but everything piled up and she ultimately slammed the phone down.

_Nope. Couldn’t do it._

Besides, it had been a week. He probably danced with so many people within a week teaching his lessons it would be a miracle that he even remembered her –

“JYN!” Bodhi’s voice suddenly hollered down the hallway, his voice muffled slightly by his toothbrush and his own phone that clearly hadn’t turned off the notifications yet. “Muddy Farmer tonight?”

She stared at her phone once more.

“YEAH, ALL RIGHT,” she shouted back.

* * *

 

“Oh god,” she found herself muttering at the bar. “How did I let myself get talked into this again?”

“Hey!” Bodhi pointed out cheerfully. “You wilfully dragged yourself into this one.”

Well, she knew _that_ , she didn’t need to be so happily reminded. She also certainly knew that her one beginners Bachata class yesterday was clearly not going to be much help that night. Yes, so help her, she had taken up Bachata, but while totally confident that she could eventually master it in class, it was clear that without the crazy good people to compare herself to she had grossly overestimated her confidence. She still hadn’t spotted Cassian at all either, and they had been there over an hour already.

“Would you quit it?” Bodhi huffed when she glanced over her shoulder for the tenth time in a minute. “You don’t even know what you’re going to do if you see him, maybe you should work on that part of the plan first?”

“Ha! You’re funny if you think I even have a plan,” Jyn said, taking a massive gulp of her rum and coke.

“You’re ridiculous,” Bodhi snorted. “C’mon, babe. Let’s dance.”

Jyn glanced out at the crowd. The night was still young and the Muddy Farmer hadn’t quite had a chance to completely fill up with people yet. The dance floor was full of couples taking advantage of the extra space while they could, their arms swinging and their feet travelling far more than they usually could. Soon it would get so crowded that their close holds would be much closer than they were technically supposed to, so this was the ideal time to get out there before the chances of standing on someone got exponentially higher.

“Fine,” she hid her smile behind a roll of her eyes as she downed the last of her drink and took Bodhi’s hand.

Whenever she danced with Bodhi, she felt no terror whatsoever. Dancing with him was _easy_ , her feet just automatically ending up where they were supposed to like she was being led through the clouds or some shit. There was no pressure, and she was able to laugh as he led her through parts of the routine that they had been learning in class. “No, it’s the right turn next!” she exclaimed.

“Excuse me, but I am the leader,” Bodhi declared mock seriously back as he accidentally led her through a hammerlock turn instead, her arm twisting behind her back before being un-twisted. “the follower does not acknowledge when the leader has clearly Fucked Up.”

“ _Sorrryyyy_.”

“Well, I’d like to see you lead!”

“Go on then,” Jyn paused as she pulled herself out of Bodhi’s hold, gesturing with her hands to instead take him. “I’ll be terrible at it, but I’ll lead you.”

Of course on the very first count she accidentally stepped backwards instead of forwards. After a bit of swearing, they both eventually figured out how to do the basic step entirely backwards to what they had both been taught. She even executed a turn! Out of time and swinging the wrong arm, but Bodhi was more than happy to still spin under her. “This is harder than it looks,” Jyn admitted after several more steps of basic. “I’m the one who has to come up with everything. It’s way easier when I can just follow whatever you say and don’t have to think about it.”

“Yeah, thinking about it is usually the hardest part,” Bodhi laughed.

It usually was. It could be hard to turn your brain off, but even harder still to consciously think and confront whatever was going on inside it. Her heart pounded as she attempted a very bad cross-body though thankfully Bodhi was keen to help her and show her what her feet were actually supposed to be doing, rather than just blindly stepping everywhere. It was just as she was getting the hang of it finally, getting used to leading someone else around when her eyes strayed through the thickening crowd.

And she saw him.

“FUCK,” she yelped, standing on Bodhi’s foot.

“JESUS, Jyn. You’re wearing heels!” Bodhi whined. However, he glanced up with her and clearly also caught a glimpse of Cassian’s face through the sea of dancers, since his face slowly transformed into a sly grin. “OH, I see. We should go say hi!”

She may have possibly let out a miniscule whine.

“What was that?” Bodhi asked, cheerfully.

“Oh, fuck you,” Jyn threw back at him.

He had apparently arrived with another guy, some tall and lanky dude who seemed way too unimpressed with everything to be allowed. Was he the friend who wouldn’t have eaten the chips off the floor? She vowed to tease him about it if they ever came face to face.

Cassian glanced through the crowd and caught her eye.

Shit.

“Oh my god, he’s coming over,” Jyn thumped Bodhi on the shoulder in a panic, their dance clearly over. She dragged him off the dance floor, hissing like an angry goose, “Bodhi – _Bodhi_ – what the fuck do I do–”

“OUCH, how about don’t hurt your only friend?”

Jyn threw up her hands. “It’s official. I can’t do this. Bye forever, I’m moving back to England–”

“Hey.”

She wasn’t getting out of it. He was there, smiling and making her chest ache and god she better pull herself together within the next three seconds otherwise she was going to make quite the scene. She turned and at least didn’t have to fake the smile she gave back.

“Hey! Good to see you.”

“This is the girl who ate my chips?” Cassian’s tall friend waved a hand in what could only be described as utter dismay.

“I’m Jyn, it’s nice to meet you too,” she snorted.

“Don’t mind him,” Cassian not-so-subtly punched his friend in the gut, causing him to huff slightly. “This is Kay, he dances as well.”

“When he’s not being assaulted by his friends.”

Quite possibly in an attempt to save the entire situation after having clearly felt the tension emanating from everyone involved, Bodhi chose that moment to leap in with his hand ready to shake. “CASSIAN!” he practically yelled. “Good to see you, mate!”

“Oh – yes!” Cassian looked a little thrown, but accepted his handshake anyway. “Sorry, I can’t believe it’s been months and I literally haven’t known your name until now.”

“That happens to everyone,” Bodhi snorted. “No worries. When did you meet Jyn?”

The fucker very well knew when, but apparently he was going to make him say it. Jyn felt her face burn as Cassian glanced at her slightly before answering, “You know, I don’t think I actually remember meeting her for the first time… but we properly spoke last week.”

“I saw you guys dancing,” Bodhi grinned.

“Yeah, he attempted to teach me Bachata,” Jyn said. “I feel like I mostly failed, but had fun trying.”

“I love Bachata!” Bodhi glanced out onto the dance floor that was picking up even more and more people as the music blared. He turned back to Cassian and held out a hand. “You teach dance, you should know how to follow right?”

“I – I can try,” Cassian almost laughed. “Are you asking me to dance?”

“Of course!” Bodhi declared as he dragged him out onto the dance floor.

Which left Jyn with Kay.

To give herself a precious 30 more seconds of zero awkwardness, she just watched Bodhi and Cassian dance for a moment. Cassian was clearly trying his best to remember how to follow Bodhi’s lead and honestly wasn’t doing too bad, aside from messing up some of the footwork much like she had done. She knew that Bodhi already liked Cassian and a part of her wanted to run over and squeeze him tight for it, but soon it became impossible to keep ignoring Kay’s gangly mass on her other side. She knew that he had to be also sizing her up. She glanced over at him and he didn’t even try and hide the fact that he was staring at her.

“Will you dance with me?” he asked.

“I’m – sorry?” she said back. “You want to dance with me?”

“Yes.”

No other explanation. No other comment, just a hand outstretched and a blank expression. Social dancing etiquette would have made her incredibly rude to turn him down when it was clear she was also a dancer and didn’t have anything else obligating her at the moment and so it was probably against her better judgement that she accepted his hand. She quite honestly didn’t know what to expect. She had danced with some giant people before, but Kay was almost ridiculously tall compared to her. And maybe it was judgemental of her, but she didn’t see how someone who came off as so stuffy could move in the way needed for Salsa.

(Ok, it was _definitely_ judgemental of her).

But Kay led her out onto the dance floor and immediately leapt into the dance without any sort of pleasantries and she was thoroughly surprised. Kay compensated for her height by bending every time he span, so she wasn’t having to jump to get her hand over his head. His hands stayed in polite and sociable areas and he also didn’t get stuck on the spin cycle either, like a broken washing machine hauling her around and around until she was so dizzy that she threw up on the edge of the dance floor (which fun fact, she’d seen happen before). She had doubted his style and felt bad about it now as he led her through a hammerlock turn. Instead of letting her simply open-break out of it, he blocked her halfway, crouching and bringing her arms over his head.

He wasn’t here to mess around like her. He was here to fucking dance.

“You are not too bad at Salsa,” he called over the music.

“You sound surprised,” Jyn answered.

“The way you speak about yourself, you made it seem as if you were terrible.”

“How the hell did you hear me speak about myself?”

“A year’s worth of Facebook mentions and your occasional comments in the group chat.”

“You stalked me?”

“Of course,” Kay shrugged.

Jyn had to laugh. “Don’t tell me – it was that meme Bodhi tagged me in a few months ago? The one with the girl stuck behind the washing machine?”

“Ah, I do remember that – ‘when you get stuck on spin cycle’ the words said.”

“You’re a good mate, Kay,” Jyn acknowledged. “I’m sorry I doubted that you could dance.”

“I literally work for the same dance school as Cassian, it’s how we met.”

Of fucking course.

“What style?”

“Brazilian Zouk.”

Jyn gaped for a second. One of the intermediate Zouk classes was usually on before Salsa and honestly, there was no other style that could be more comically absurd imagining Kay teaching. Despite not even know the basic step for it, she almost wanted to try the highly sensual, soft and flowing style now.

Their conversation ended then as Kay apparently wanted to use up the last of the song. As the last chorus was sung, he lead her in an unassisted turn, catching her back at the precise right time to dip her back. Jyn laughed as her head tilted back towards the bar, where for a second, she could see Bodhi and Cassian just finishing their dance as well. Kay then hauled her back upright, wasting no time to thank her for the dance before stepping back and leaving her in the wake of the moving crowd to head back to their friends

She shook her head. She supposed she didn’t mind that guy.

“You didn’t look too bad out there,” Cassian told her once they approached.

“I started classes,” Jyn said.

“She insists that she does not know what she’s doing, but she followed my lead perfectly,” Kay shrugged. “I approve.”

Bodhi snorted with laughter.

“Jesus Christ,” Jyn sighed.

“Ignore him,” Cassian pleaded, before holding out his hand. “Jyn, want to dance?”

“Someone who doesn’t have to bend in half to match my height! Of course.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i literally took the least likely dance that I could ever imagine Kay dancing and made that his profession, the image of him dancing Brazillian Zouk legit makes me Cry with laughter (if you want an idea of what it looks like, try and imagine Kay doing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITRCYkFMqfk ) 
> 
> BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS!!!! one more part left in which i promise that jyn and cassian will dance again hahaha. please let me know what you thought!! 
> 
> Much love xoxo


	3. Part 3

He led her out onto the dance floor and this time, Jyn did her very best not to watch whatever else was going on around her. This was her chance to be grounded in the moment, to forget the world and just move with another person. She could do it. It was a DJ rather than the band this week apparently, and they had the wonderful sultry tones of Cardi B in the background singing what seemed to be a Bachata remix of _I Like It_. Boy, that was something to hear. Cassian took her hands and thankfully her feet automatically found the basic step this time.

“I was serious about the classes,” she yelled over Cardi. “Not just Salsa, Bachata as well. I’ve apparently sold my soul to the dance studio. And my bank account.”

“You were fine before,” Cassian raised her arm, turning her under it. “but did you like it?”

“Shut up, it was good to finally know what I was supposed to be doing.”

He laughed, leading her into a new bar of basic step. However this time he blocked her halfway, able to force her still just from a slight change in grip of his hand. He brought his other arm swinging across. She had to dip her head underneath it to avoid getting hit, although she only realised that was probably supposed to be the actual move until too late. Instead of pulling off what was likely meant to be a sensual head swish, she probably just looked like she was awkwardly trying to get a fly off her face. She laughed it off once she was back upright and he insisted on trying it again.

She still fucked it up the next two times, but it was on the forth she finally found the groove. Her head swept under, her body involuntarily rolling at the same time and he didn’t stop there. He dipped back under her arm next, slowing them down so that her roll matched his. For a second or two, their hips were pressed together, causing a hot spark to shoot down her spine. Then his arms were around her, back to their usual speed and turning them around as he grinned.

Watching others dance like this, Jyn had always wondered how on earth the followers managed to just keep up with whatever the leader wanted without choreographing anything beforehand. It seemed almost impossible that two people could be so in synch without ever having met before, but dancing with Cassian she thought she might have finally gotten it. His commands were strong and firm. His hands clearly indicated what move was coming next, whether it was a cross-body or a wave, and the slightest tug on her back could move her to exactly where he needed her to be. His hands caused a thrill wherever they touched, sliding right down to her toes. She was startled a little out of her bubble when another couple accidentally got too close and Cassian was forced to pull her into a close hold in order to keep her from getting trampled… not that she minded that much.

It seemed that he was going to take advantage of it. She was thankfully a lot more relaxed than last week, enough so that she just didn’t overthink it when their legs overlapped, one of his bent between hers. He changed the faster pace to slower, hands moving down to her hips. Maybe they were slipping a little out of the traditional Bachata now, but hell she wasn’t the goddamn dance teacher here, she wasn’t going to mark him down for it. There was really no other way to describe what they were doing other than grinding. They slowly found the pace that matched the song, his hips moving against hers. She was turned as they danced, his arms embracing her. One slid up her back so that he could leisurely lean her back a bit more with each roll until eventually her leg that wasn’t between his was lifted and hooked over his hip. Her blood was boiling and she could feel the heat underneath his shirt. He swept her back up again, her arms swung around his neck and this time neither of them were laughing.

This felt alarmingly ok.

Eventually, though, the song changed and they were forced to pull back from each other. Jyn pointedly ignored both how hot her face felt and Bodhi jumping up and down in hysterics somewhere behind Cassian’s head and instead wordlessly asked whether Cassian wanted to continue dancing. Slightly more confident in Salsa, it was easy to throw herself back into the turn patterns this time (and she tried not to care too much about the lack of contact compared to Bachata). Underneath the cover of darkness and the accompanying colourful flashing lights of the pub, it wasn’t hard to lose herself in the fun and never-ending movement. She turned with both arms above her, ending with her hands crossed. Instead of just letting go, Cassian chose to sweep them back over her hair, fingers lingering a bit more than a polite, casual partner may have done. At one point he let her go to execute a dramatic turn, to which she responded with an exaggerated hip circle. When he pulled her into a 360, his hand was splayed out flat against her back, a solid warmth against her spine.

Her body never cooled down. She almost expected a line of fire to have been lit across the dance floor.

Jyn honestly couldn’t say how long they danced for. She at least realised her feet were hurting when Bodhi approached them at one point between songs. She glared at first at what appeared to be yet another silent teasing, but turns out it was only to announce that he was getting tired and was going to head home.

“Already?” Jyn said.

“Jyn,” Bodhi said, flatly. “It’s nearly midnight.”

She glanced at her phone. _11:52pm_.

Oh.

Oh, shit.

 _Shit_.

She never called her dad.

She hastily glanced back up at Bodhi. “That’s fine, I can be ready in 5 minutes,” she said.

“If you wanted to stay,” Cassian put in. “I could drop you off later?”

Her insides twisted. Jesus, was she at war with herself. On the one hand yes, _yes_ , she wanted to stay and see where this went, see what happened the more time went on and the more in synch they got. On the other… she hadn’t missed a day calling her dad since her mum died. Sometimes they talked for hours, sometimes they talked for two minutes, but they hadn’t ever gone an entire day without at least some kind of conversation and she panicked for a hot second fearing what he could have gone and done without her voice to ground him.

… but why hadn’t he called her?

She didn’t ever forget, but sometimes he would beat her to it if she didn’t call early enough. Why didn’t she get a call that night? Oh god, what if she missed it and he wasn’t ok, what if he was lying dead in a ditch somewhere? She checked her phone once more, conscious of the fact that she still hadn’t given an answer and realised upon actually doing more than just a quick glance at the time, she apparently had a text from Galen.

“Thanks so much for the offer, but don’t worry yourself,” Jyn told Cassian. “It’s late, I should be getting home too. Bodhi, just give me a chance to say goodbye?”

“You sure?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah – I’ll be out in five minutes –”

Bodhi looked reluctant to agree, but she shooed him off before she could think about it more. She turned to face Cassian and realised honestly she might need more than five minutes just to figure out what the fuck to say to him, because she really wasn’t prepared at all. Her gut felt like turning inside out, her hands itched to get back on him, but she held back politely and said,

“Was great dancing! We should – should do it again sometime –”

“Of course,” Cassian nodded. He had a face of total contentment and she noted that he was very, very good at keeping it up without letting anything else through. However, the slight desolation in his eyes was enough to make her feel sick at the thought of disappointing him as much as she was currently disappointing herself. “Have a good night, Jyn.”

“You, too.”

With a grip of his hand, she was turning and heading out of the pub.

She knew Bodhi would already be walking the five or so minutes to where the car was parked, so she had a moment to open the text from her dad as she waited out in the slightly misty rain. Her heart was practically hammering in her throat and it didn’t stop once she started reading,

_Hey, Jyn! Just letting you know you don’t have to call me tonight – Bodhi told me that you’re going out again and that you hope to dance with your Hunky Salsa Boy! I’m honestly ok, I’d just be being selfish if I pulled you away from your night. You have a good time and I love you!!! xoxo Papa_

He was ok.

_He was ok._

She let out a sigh she didn’t realise she was holding. Her dad was all right. She rubbed her eyes to try and stop the prickling sensation of relief as she stood there and finally realised that actually, her and her dad had both been using each other as a crutch this entire time. Focusing on the other as a way of avoiding focusing on themselves. If Jyn could just worry about her papa, could tell herself that the calls were always to check up on him and not the other way around, then her brain didn’t have time to process her own feelings. Her dad was saying he didn’t need her anymore… but she apparently still needed him.

She wasn’t ok. She let out a long breath, it misting out in front of her like a dragon’s plume of smoke. She knew that now, accepted that now, and maybe yeah she should probably take her dad’s advice and go and talk to someone about it all, because she wasn’t living her life right now. She had built a brick wall around herself, said it was for protection and was refusing to come out. She glanced down at the phone in her hand, before turning back to glance at the pub doors.

What in the hell was she doing standing out in the cold when she could be inside with someone who clearly liked her and wanted to spend time with her?

She didn’t manage to smash the entire wall in one go, but she did like to think she got rid of at least one or two bricks in that moment. When Bodhi pulled up outside the Muddy Farmer, Jyn shoved her phone back into her pocket and opened the passenger door.

“Change of plan,” she announced unceremoniously. “I’m staying.”

Bodhi smirked. “What changed your mind?”

“My dad did… and some other things. Thanks for talking to him.”

He laughed. “No problem. Have a good tiiiiiiime–”

“Yeah, yeah, I still hate you.”

“LOVE YOU.”

She slammed the car door before turning back for the pub. The switch in temperature slammed into her as she walked inside, along with the sheer amount of people that she could have sworn had doubled in just the few minutes she’d spent outside. Or maybe she just hadn’t been paying that much attention. For a moment she panicked that he might have just left too, but her chest exploded a little upon catching sight of him sitting at the bar, clearly resting his sore feet. Before she could back out or talk herself out of it, Jyn battled her away across the dance floor to reach him.

“Hey,” she said, casually sitting down next to him.

She pretended not to catch the smile that was slowly forming as he took a swig of his drink.

“Hey. You didn’t go home.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I mean,” she carried on like nothing was amiss. “midnight isn’t really that late in the grand scheme of things.”

“It is if you’re Kay,” Cassian mentioned. “He went home two hours ago.”

“So it’s just you and me then.”

He met her gaze across the bar. Again, it wasn’t a question.

* * *

 

They danced one more rather rousing Salsa, but otherwise they spent the rest of the night talking in a booth at the back of the bar that everyone was apparently treating like a coat check. In amongst all the jackets and purses, she leaned into his side and spoke to him about her life, about trivial things, about the things that mattered. Everything. And he spoke too, his hands animated and always touching her arm, seeking out the contact that they had felt on the dance floor. She ended up apologising for running out on him – twice, now – that he was quick to insist was absolutely no problem.

“It’s just – me and my dad,” Jyn winced at how to possibly explain.

“You don’t have to say–”

“It’s fine,” she insisted. “just, it’s been difficult ever since Mum passed away and he likes to call me – that’s who was on the phone last week when I left–”

“Shit,” Cassian exclaimed, turning to look at her. “I’m so sorry–”

“It’s fine,” Jyn shook her head. “at least I thought I was fine – turns out I don’t think I was quite as fine as I thought I was – but fuck, no one wants to hear this,” She forced out a laugh. “I’ll get my life sorted out tomorrow, I promise.”

“I don’t mind,” Cassian said. “but yeah, sometimes it pays not to worry about tomorrow.”

“You lose focus on the now.”

“And I’m quite liking the now.”

Something slammed in her chest.

“Me, too.”

“I was supposed to be an accountant,” Cassian said a while later, the two of them eventually leaving the pub to walk along the waterfront. The harbour spread out ahead of them was full of yachts bobbing in the marina and the misting rain was starting to get harder, but neither of them seemed to really care. Cassian glanced back at her to carry on, “I did an entire year of a business degree until I figured out I hated it and quit. I studied dance instead and never looked back.”

“What’s your favourite style?”

“Don’t ask me that!” Cassian groaned with a smile. “It’s like asking which is your favourite child.”

“Bullshit, you have to have a favourite.”

He stopped at a street corner, the two of them waiting for the red lights to turn into a green walking man. Leaning against the poll, he looked back at her under the mist and red glow and answered,

“I mean, right now I’m currently favouring Bachata.”

Jesus.

Somewhere along the way, they ended up holding hands. Jyn wasn’t entirely sure who initiated it, only that one second her hand was in her pocket and the next it was clasped with his. Turns out his ride was a beat up old van with all the seats stripped out of the back so that it could apparently turn into a camper at some point. “It’s a working progress, sorry,” Cassian insisted, wincing at the mess of old tools and the smell of paint.

“No, it’s great,” Jyn said. “You can go travelling with style.”

“It’s my intention to take this thing road-tripping somewhere,” Cassian said, letting go of her hand. His fingers slid from hers as she rounded the van and they both climbed inside. “I don’t know where exactly, but somewhere with water and sun. Maybe to the beach?”

“I love the beach.”

“Same!”

“One of my best memories is finding shells on the beach as a kid,” Jyn remembered. Her chest hurt to think back on the way her mama would call out to show her a rock that she had discovered, and how she had kicked water up at her in the waves, causing little Jyn to shriek at the cold. She hadn’t thought about the memory in years but when Cassian asked to hear it, she found that she was happy to talk about how she had been eight years old on a family holiday to Cornwall back in England.

Eventually, they pulled up in front of her building.

With her directing him, it seemed to take forever and also no time at all. She knew exactly why her heart was hammering so hard, but she hadn’t expected it to be this much. She glanced at Cassian as he pulled into park and tried not to smile too much. She mostly failed.

She was mostly ok with it.

“This was fun,” she said.

“Definitely,” he answered. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Where you can teach me how to actually move.”

“You honestly know what you’re doing,” he rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

“Oh yes, because I took one lesson,” she smirked. “Clearly I’m an expert now.”

“You’re all right getting inside by yourself?”

“Oh yeah, I’ll be fine,” Jyn shrugged. She hesitated climbing out of the van however, her eyes somehow stuck on his. They held the gaze a beat too long, glancing away only when she slapped her thighs and picked up her bag from the floor of the car, unbuckling the seatbelt. “WELP,” she declared. “Have a good night–”

He leaned across the hand break and kissed her.

Well, shit. Ok. This was apparently how the night was going to end and that was fine with her. Her bag fell back to the floor as she immediately responded. He apparently kissed with his entire body. Sure, his lips moved but his hands also engulfed her face, stroking her hairline until they curled behind her head. He just couldn’t seem to stay still. They moved out of her hair, down her shoulders, her arms, back up her sides, literally kissing with all limbs, all enthusiasm, _all in_. For a moment she forgot to do anything with hers entirely. However eventually it dawned on her, and she snaked her hands up to his waist, gripping his shirt. Her face burned almost as much as it had done while dancing. Hell, her entire body heated up, to the point where she was surprised the car didn’t just explode with it.

He was hungry and she devoured him.

She was the first to pull back though, about 75% ready to fuck it all and 100% terrified. Their lips slowed, moving languidly across each other until finally they were simply breathing heavily in each other’s faces. Shit, that was romantic. His fingers that had somehow sneaked under her jacket drew aimless circles across her shirt while she tried to get her life back together enough to say something.

“Good night,” she ended up blurting out.

Upon the look on his face she reached up and squeezed his shoulders in outrage at herself. “Fuck me – I meant good night as in it’s been a good night–”

“Ah,” Cassian hung his head a moment, breathing out before swinging back up with a smile. “It has.”

She scrambled out of the car less than gracefully and she was honestly surprised that she even made it to her front door at all considering that he got out of the car with her and kissed her again underneath the street lamps. She could still feel his lips on hers as she eventually grasped the handle, turning back at the last second to see him pull away from the kerb.

“Well, hello.”

Jyn leapt a mile once she was inside. She ended up slamming the door shut behind her only to realise that apparently Bodhi was still up, the T.V. blaring some movie in the background. He muted it with a grin and she threw her bag down in exasperation.

“What are you still doing up?”

“As soon as I got home I hit a second wind,” Bodhi explained. “too wired to sleep, so thought a movie might calm me down. I was wondering if you were going to come home at all, to be honest.”

“Jesus, mate,” Jyn rolled her eyes.

“WELL. Did he give you a ride home?”

Slowly, she nodded.

Bodhi grinned. “Did he kiss you goodniiiiight?”

As much as she tried to stop it, she couldn’t help the smile that started to spread across her face as she nodded once more.

“Oh, babe,” Bodhi said. “Look at your face. You’re totally fucked.”

“Yeah,” Jyn let out a long breath. “I’m very glad that you dragged me to Salsa classes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, you all know this fic is based off real life. That ending is essentially exactly what happened. We danced. We walked back to the car past the marina. He drove me home. We kissed in his beat up old van. I died, lol.
> 
> ANYWAY, thank you so much for the comments, I really hope you liked this ridiculous salsa au!! pls let me know what you thought. :) 
> 
> HAPPY HOLIDAYS, much love yall   
> xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> lOOK. i sEE YALL jUDGING mEE. If you know me (or you follow my tumblr lmao) you'll probably know why this fic and this particular au is very personal to me. i might regret the decision to post it but #yolo and all that so HERE WE ARE 
> 
> I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE IT, please comment and tell me!!! yes there are more parts to come bc apparently i go overboard with everything and don't know how to write a oneshot anymore lol 
> 
> MUCH LOVE  
> xoxo 
> 
> (also pls be aware that for Reasons i may end up deleting it at some point in the future so idk, maybe save it if you like it lol :) )


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